Shadow of Israphel: The Forgotten Hero
by TkaiaWolf
Summary: When young Ruth escapes into the Overworld, she hopes to finally find some peace. Alas, as Israphel is determined to rule once again, it's up to her, Xephos, Honeydew, and Knight Peculier to save the world once again. But what will happen when Peculier finds out who she really is?
1. Chapter 1

**So, a new story! This is another scenario for Shadow of Israphel, which is made by the Yogscast, who are on YouTube. (username is BlueXephos-look 'em up!) Anyway, here you go! This will follow the adventures of Ruth (fav name sorry if you're sick of it) who has to save the world, beat up baddies, go on stupid quests… etc. You know the drill. RPG stuff and all that. Hope you like!  
**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yogscast, Shadow of Israphel, or Minecraft, or any characters, creatures, or plotlines mentioned in them.**

Chapter One

Voldemort goes up in Smoke

"Urgh... Bwargh!" I shot bolt upright, looking around frantically. Where the hell was I? I looked around. Trees, snow in the distance, and... A cactus?

No. Cacti do not walk. Nor do they have creepy faces. Nor do they hiss.

"Oh, crap." I muttered, jumping to my feet and backing hurriedly away. The green thing advanced, hissing and expanding. The air filled with the smell of gunpowder.

I ran, turning my back on the thing as it exploded. I jumped just in time to avoid the force of the creature's destruction, but not in time to avoid being pelted by shrapnel. I looked around again, wiping blood and dirt off my scraped face. Suddenly, I noticed something strapped to my waist that would have been useful a few seconds ago; a silver sword, long and lightweight. I drew it, and swung it at a nearby tree. Perfect balance.

Then I noticed more highly useful objects; a longbow, and a quiver of arrows. I didn't draw these. I had more important things to do. Like slay the zombie coming right for me.

I dodged its flailing attack, and rolled behind it. With a swift stab and slash, the beast was slain. Zombies? Wierd explodey thingies? Was this some kind of apocalypse? Blearily, I could remember running, and... The memories faded. I could remember vaguely living with my mother in a harsh, horrible place. And after that... Blank.

I shook my head. Shelter. You need to find shelter, dummy! I climbed up a tree and, after killing the giant spider in it (really?), looked around. In the distance, I could see a denser patch of forest, and a-was that a skull? I looked in the other direction and brightened. A city. Hopefully with beds and food. And no more monsters.

I dropped down from the tree and ran in the direction of the city. At one point, an arrow narrowly missed my head, and, as I glanced back, I glimpsed what looked like a skeletal archer. Rolling my eyes, I pelted on, trying to ignore the increasingly painful stitch in my side. Finally, I came to the city wall. I could just barely see what looked like buildings floating in the air. A sign by the gate said "Welcome to New Mistral!". I walked up to the gates. They were locked.

"Wonderful. Simply stupendous!" I muttered, walking along the wall. Finally, I noticed a loose stone in the cobblestone base of the wall. I shifted it aside, and saw a tunnel leading into the city. I jumped down, and, after carefully shifting the stone back into place, went inside.

I opened a trapdoor just on the other side of the wall, and came up in a dark alley. Coming out of it, I looked around. I was on a deserted road, which wasn't surprising, seeing as it was a city, and it was the middle of the night. I was walking along it aimlessly, wondering if the local inn would give me room and board for free, when suddenly a piercing scream hit my ears. Drawing my blade, I traced it to the nearby Blacksmith. The door was hanging open on one hinge, and the sign saying "Duke Smitheys" was on the ground. I ran into the workshop, then to the upstairs living quarters, to see a man in a dark robe holding an obsidian knife over a beautiful blond woman, who looked terrified.

"Wh-what have you done to him? Where is he?" She screamed, distraught. I silently snuck up on the man, whom I suddenly noticed had unnaturally pale skin. Familiar. He looks familiar. Murderer. Murderer. Murderer. No more Mama and it's all his fault.

"Oh, I assure you, Ms. Duke, your husband is very safe. Safer than you, I imagine." The man said in a cold, terrifying voice. He struck with the knife, and the woman closed her eyes. With a deafening clang, I deflected his knife, and struck him across the chest with the flat of my blade. I moved between him and the woman, who looked stunned. He stumbled, and glared at me dangerously with his red eyes. Murderer. Murderer. Shriek and fire and Mama falling, falling, gone.

Oh, my gods, it's Voldemort. I thought wildly, thinking of a story my mother had once told me. But, no, that was just a story, and, anyway, Voldemort used a wand, and he was killed, wasn't he?

"You!" He spat. Was that fear flickering in his eyes? "How did you get here?"

"Who are you, anyway? And what's with the robe? Are you, like, some kind of wannabe Voldemort or something?" I asked, going into snappy retort auto drive. Wannabe growled.

"So. The spirit did her work well. You remember little. Very well. You wish for the truth, girl? You presume to interfere? Well, find them if you can! You won't defeat me without them. Good luck, Templar child. You'll need it." He said, and disappeared in a puff of smoke. I stared at the spot where he vanished. What in the name of Notch was that about? Murderer.

"Y-you... How?" I turned to see the woman in her nightgown, standing next to her bed, looking at me with a mixture of awe and horror. Prisoner. Prisoner you failed to help. "Who are you?"

"Ruth." I said. "Just Ruth. Who are you?"

"Daisy. Daisy Duke. I take it you heard me scream?" Daisy asked, laughing nervously. I nodded. "Well, I must thank you for it. Please, you're welcome to the guest room, and I'll make breakfast in the morning. And... I'll tell you about my problem, if you like."

"Thanks." I said. She showed me to the guest bedroom, and I passed out immediately.

Running, running across the bridge, lava below, portal ahead, death behind. I run fast, faster than Mama. Mama falling behind. The pale-faced man, flying as though on invisible wings, catching up. I reach the other side. Mama barely at the halfway point. I tell her to hurry. A great, white thing appears with a shriek, and blasts the bridge. It crumbles. With one last look at me, Mama falls, falls into the ocean of fire. I freeze. I cry. The pale man picks me up, and carries me back, back to the castle, back to imprisonment.

Only this time, Mama is not with me. I am alone.

Finally free, through the portal, years later, into the desert. Alone still, I run, over the dunes, away from the portal, away from the Nether. I see something in the distance. A mirage? Or an oasis? I walk towards it. I drink from the water, rest in the shade.

A bright light. She, the spirit of the oasis, appears. But instead of offering to send me to the outside like before, she says, "A message will come for you in the next morn. You must fight him! Take revenge for your family! Seek out your brother, he will explain! Go forth! Be victorious!"

I woke up with a start again, and looked around, half expecting to see a Ghast looming before me, or the pale man waiting, bow and arrow at the ready. I jumped as Daisy opened the door.

"I made breakfast. Come downstairs when you're ready." She said, then left. I stared after her. Her voice, her mannerisms, so like my mother's...

Mama. Dark haired, kind, laughing, loving. Me. Brown hair, hazel eyes, rowdy, headstrong, unsubtle. There was no comparison. And yet she'd loved me anyway. Loved me enough to help me escape. Loved me enough to die for me.

I shook my head, clearing it of those thoughts. Do not think about Mama. I put my sword back on my belt and my quiver and bow on my back, then went downstairs to where Daisy was waiting, cake on the table. I ate hungrily, trying to think of a sensitive way to ask the question. Finally, I just went ahead and asked.

"So... Who was that pale dude, anyway?" I asked. She looked down at her plate.

"That," She said. "Was Israphel." The name confirmed my worst fears, and sent a shiver down my spine. "My husband, Peculier, and his friends, Honeydew and Xephos, the heroes, defeated him a few years ago. But he appears to be back. Furthermore," She said, her voice trembling slightly, "My husband has disappeared, and the heroes. I can't fight, so I can't go looking for them. We've lost contact with Skyhold, Verigan's Hold, and Barbeque Bay, so I can't contact Lysander or Spacker or Adaephon for help." I tensed at the last name. Adaephon. Could it be...? "They're friends of mine." She explained at my questioning look. "They're rather skilled, and they would help me, but..." She trailed off.

"I could help." I said. Daisy looked up, hardly daring believe it. "I mean, I can fight monsters pretty well, from Arachnids to Zombies." Last night's dream had brought back memories of lessons that my mother had given me. Under the table, I put my hand on my sword. Mama had made this for me. Do not think about Mama.

"You... You would do that?" She asked. "But... Do you know just how dangerous it would be?"

"I have a fair idea." I said. Believe me, I know.

"Then... Do you need food? I have porkchops and water and..." Daisy bustled around her small kitchen, gathering supplies and giving them to me. I put them in my satchel, in which I discovered some gold. By the time I was packed, I had an diamond pickaxe, an iron shovel and axe, three bundles of torches, some flint and steel, explosives (where she got those, I have no idea), more arrows, and some iron armor. The armor wan't that much, at my request; kneepads, elbow pads, a chesplate, and nothing for my head. She also gave me some new traveling boots. As I examined myself in the mirror, I noticed a silver circlet in my hair, and a small tattoo of a red cross on my shoulder. By the time we had finished, it was evening.

"I just have one more thing I need to do before I leave tomorrow." I told Daisy, who nodded, and went to bed, exhausted. I wandered around town, until I found what I was looking for; New Mistral Stables.

"How can I help you, miss?" The owner asked.

"I need a horse, a fast one." I said. Mama had told me about horses. They were fast and strong, but what she hadn't told me was how beautiful they were He led me down the aisle, pointing out different horses. At the end of the aisle, I spotted a beautiful horse with huge hooves-midnight black with a white drop on its head and white hair by its hooves.

"How much for the mare?" I asked. The owner looked where I was pointing, an his face drooped.

"Ah, she's only two gold bars. Untamable, that one. Throws anyone who tries to ride her." He said irritably. I walked up to her, and stretched out my hand. "I wouldn't do that if I were-" He stopped as she muzzled my hand affectionately. "I don't believe it." He whispered. "The last man who tried that damn near lost a finger."

"I'll take her, if you don't mind. And some food, and a bridle and reins for her, too." I said, thrusting seven gold bars (nearly all my money) into his hand and leading the mare out of the stables, picking up a feedbag on my way out. I led her to a field. I looked at the setting sun, awed by its beauty. There was no sun in the Nether. Only glowstone, lava, and flame. I stared at the sun until my eyes burned, as though the red it turned the sky was actual fire. It was beautiful. So were the trees and grass. Rich and green and alive. Not like the Nether. The Nether was nothing but dead. Dead and hot.

"Now, let's see if you'll be ridden, River." I muttered, clambering onto her back. Don't ask why I named her River. It just seemed right.

Anyway, she trotted, walked, and cantered at my command, and turned at the slightest twitch of the reins. I rode her bareback, as I could only afford the bridle and reins. Seeing the sun setting, I rode her back into the city just before they closed the gates, which was lucky, as I was pretty sure that River would not have fit through the tunnel.

I tied her to a post outside the blacksmith and went inside. Coming into the guest room, I noticed something on my pillow. I picked up the piece of parchment. It read;

The hero who fell from the sky to this land

Shall be found in the grip of the sand.

I looked at it for a while. This must have been the "message" the spirit had mentioned last night. I shoved it in my satchel, and fell asleep.

Looks like I'd have to go back to the desert to find what I was after. The desert that I had sworn to never enter again.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two! Review for advice, compliments, and anything that isn't mindless hating! Hope you like!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Minecraft, the Yogscast, or any of their characters or senarios.**

Chapter Two

Secrets-There's no Keepin' 'Em.

"If it's the desert you want..." Daisy said hesitantly when I'd told her where I wanted to go. "You'll need to get to Verigan's Hold. The easiest enterance is there. And... Perhaps Adaephon could help you. I haven't heard from him in a while. I'm worried."

"It'll be okay, Daisy." I said, trying to reassure myself as much as her. "I'll find the heroes, including Peculier, and we'll go kick Israphel's skinny white ass." In spite of herself, Daisy giggled. "Well, off I go, then!" River and I set off at a trot down the road to Verigan's Hold.

"Good luck!" Daisy cried. I waved back at her, then set off at a run. It was still morning, and the tranquility was occasionally punctured by a burning skeleton or a slow creeper. Smirking whenever I saw these, we rode on.

The hero who fell from the sky to this land shall be found in the grip of the sand. Now, what the hell did that mean? The grip of the sand? Did that mean he was buried? Or was there a literal fist somewhere in the desert? Or was it a metaphor, meaning he was in the clutches of Israphel? But any idiot could have figured that out, and it wasn't much of a hint, if that were the case. He could have still been anywhere.

After an hour or two of hard riding and puzzling, we came to what looked like a giant skull in the side of a mountain. I stopped at an overlook. The road seemed to go through it. I glanced around, and saw an old, faded sign.

Skull Pass

Scenic Overlook

Mistral City Tourist Board

"'Skull Pass'? Lovely." I laughed, then, deciding that it might spook my loyal horse, I dismounted and led River through the pass. She seemed a little skittish, so I murmured to her soothingly as we walked.

After a yard or two of thin passageway, we came out to a staircase. What looked like a garden was sprawled out before me, with cobblestone walkways, hedges, flowers, and a fountain. I saw a sign and walked over to it.

Carnivale del Banjo

Summer Grounds

For Winter Fun,

Ask for Skyhold.

"Carnival?" I wondered aloud, then continued down the road until I saw another sign, saying "New Mistral City-Verigan's Hold" "Aha." I said, then led River up the staircase. The sight that met me was a beautiful one.

A great castle with stood before me, built into a great, enormous wall, stretching as far as the eye could see. A great yellow flag with a red cross on it stood in front of the castle. "Verigan's Hold." I murmured in awe. We walked up the steps and into a courtyard, where a fountain burgled happily. I told River to stay in the courtyard, then entered the Hold.

"Um, excuse me?" I called, seeing no one in the main room. "Templar Adaephon? Somebody? Hello?"

Suddenly, I jumped as a dark, elderly man in a faded white uniform with a cross on it carrying a spear came seemingly out of nowhere. "You called?" He asked. I shook myself to get rid of the shock.

"Um, a-are you Templar Adaephon?" I asked meekly, despite how much I had wanted to meet him. The old man smiled.

"Yes, I am. And who might you be?" He replied.

"My name is Ruth. I came here on behalf of Daisy Duke." He suddenly tensed.

"Come inside, and sit down. You can tell me your story." Adaephon said, leading the way to some benches. He listened to my tale with disconcerting concentration, his expression darkening visibly when I mentioned the attack on Daisy. I left out my mother, and escaping from the Nether. That knowledge was for me alone. I also left out the part about the Oasis Spirit's hints. When I told him that I had to go into the desert, Adaephon shook his head.

"Impossible. To do so would be suicide." He said emphatically.

"Your brother and father did it. So did your nephew." I said stubbornly. Adaephon looked up sharply.

"And my brother and father are?"

"Karpath and Verigan, aren't they?"

"Yes. And very, very few know that." Adaephon said, his hand inching towards his spear. "Only a few trusted friends... And many enemies." Oops. Busted.

"Wh-what? Now wait a minute!" I said, standing up and putting my hands in the air. "H-hear me out! You'll regret it if you don't!"

"Is that a threat?" Adaephon said angrily, picking up his spear.

"Mother always said you were hot-headed." I muttered. He froze.

"And who might your mother be?" He asked slowly, lowering his spear slightly. I smiled.

"My mother is Minthor. My true name is Ruth Antioch, daughter of Karpath."

Adaephon staggered back into his chair, shocked. "B-but... Minthor died. She was captured by Israphel. She died. She only had two children. Verigan and Isabel."

"She didn't." I said flatly. Do not think about Mama. But how can you avoid it now? "She was captured, yes, but he never killed her. Not that he could..." I added quietly.

"What do you mean? Israphel almost never takes prisoners."

"He didn't have a choice in this case." I said. "Never heard of Shaki? A Templar?"

"I-yes-of course I remember Shaki." He said, laughing slightly at he suddenness of my question. "She was the one who went after Israphel when he captured Minthor. Our best equestrian, and a beautiful woman. I would have courted her, had she given me a second thought."

"She's the reason that my mother couldn't be killed by Israphel." I sat down, and he did the same. I sighed, resigned to tell my story.

"When Shaki rode out into the desert to rescue Minthor, she managed to catch up with Israphel. They battled, but it really wasn't an even match. Shaki died. Israphel tried to make her into one of his zombies, but she somehow managed to fight off his enchantments. But Shaki's spirit didn't move on."

"So she's a ghost?" Adaephon asked. I shook my head.

"No. Ghosts are created when a person's memory doesn't move on. Shaki became a spirit, and she latched on to the one thing that was strong enough, huge enough, t support her wild spirit. The desert. Shaki became the spirit of the desert.

"Israphel tried to kill Minthor before they even came to the Nether, but Shaki stopped him. But, as her spirit was tied to the desert, she couldn't follow them to the Nether. So she laid a magical protection on Minthor, making it so she could not be killed by Israphel or on his orders. Israphel didn't know this, and tried to kill her many times. Each attempt failed and weakened him further.

"There was another thing Israphel didn't know. Minthor was expecting a baby. When I was born, he forbade her from teaching me of the Overland, or teaching me how to fight, or escape. But Minthor taught me anyway. She even made me this sword, and bow." I drew the long, silver blade, and turned it over in my fingers. "And, when I was eleven, we attempted to escape.

"At first, everything seemed to be going fine. We didn't run into any guards. In fact, we were on the bridge going to the Portal into one of his desert fortresses before everything went wrong. We were running, but Mama was never as fast as me. I reached the other side, and she was barely halfway across. Then Israphel came, and was chasing us." I was talking as fast as I could, as though saying it quicker would take the pain away. "And a Ghast came, blasted the bridge apart, and... And Mama fell into the lava." I paused to compose myself. Do not cry. You are a grown up woman. You do not cry.

"Israphel took me back to the fortress, and I stayed there for another eight years-just a few days ago-after Israphel was weakened and his guards began to fade before I managed to escape." I said. "I came out in the desert, and I wandered in it for a while. There was never enough food or water in the Nether to spare any for a journey. We were only given what we needed. Then, I found the Oasis. The Oasis a patch of land that Mother said was blessed by Notch himself. A spirit protected it kept the sands and monsters away. When I went there, she fed me, and gave me a way out of the desert. I woke up outside New Mistral, and... Well, you know the story." I finished lamely. Adaephon stared at me. After a moment, he reached out and touched the silver circlet on my head.

"I should have recognized you for who you were the moment I saw Minthor's circlet; a wedding present from Verigan." Adaephon murmured, then lapsed into silence again. "Karpath never said that Minthor was expecting a new baby." He said finally. "We didn't correspond much, but he always told me that, at least, and left his children in my care when he went to fight off Israphel again."

"Minthor hadn't told him yet." I said quietly. "She said that she was going to tell him the night she was kidnapped, but..." I trailed off. "I have to go back into the desert. I need to find the heroes, and then we can defeat Israphel once and for all."

"But how?" Adaephon asked. "We've killed him twice now,"

"We have to destroy the Sentinel." I said. "Israphel has only been killed once. Lehparsi was the Evil's champion before, and you defeated him. Israphel is just a little more resilient than Lehparsi. We kill the Sentinel, we kill the champion."

"And how do we kill the Sentinel?" Adaephon asked dryly. "In case you didn't know, it's huge and damn near indestructible."

"I have a plan." I lied.

"Do you?"

"Of course."

Adaephon laughed. "If you're anything like your father, you don't want to tell me because either it involves your death, or you don't have a plan, after all."

I smiled mysteriously. Oh my gods, the guy's a mind reader.

"But, come." He said, standing up. "Daisy gave you supplies? Good. It's nearly noon, but when you're dealing with the desert, it doesn't matter if it's night or day-monsters are everywhere. Which brings me to my final question-why is Shaki, a good woman, the spirit of the desert, which is evil?"

"The desert isn't evil, Adaephon." I said mysteriously. "Do not define a place by those who inhabit it. If you do, then the Nether would be good, as my mother and I lived there."

"Your mother told you that, didn't she?"

"Maybe."


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry for the late update! Been doing online classes-high school and all that. Anyway, here's chapter three! Thx! And, BTW, yes, I do know that Peculier's dead, but in my little world, he is not. And I'm still holding out for him to come back to life! **

**BTW, sorry for the chapter mix up! Uploaded the wrong doc. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, ignore this please!**

**Dislaimer: I do not own Minecraft, the Yogscast, or any of their plots, characters, or creatures.**

Chapter Three

The Grip of the Sands

I set off immediately, riding River, with plenty of water and food. I had left before Adaephon could offer me any assistance. My plan;wander the Desert aimlessly until I found something of interest. Not very elaborate, as plans go, but hey, it's me. You kind of got to expect that.

So I kept riding, pausing every so often where there weren't monsters for water. It wasn't until after about seven hours of this, when the sun was beginning to set, that I found something. Something disturbing

"The grip of the sands." I murmured. "I wonder."

I was staring at a giant, metal hand, sticking straight up out of the sand. A small enterance had been hacked out of the metal at the base, where the wrist would begin. The place filled me with a sense of foreboding. River nickered and stumbled nervously. "S'okay, girl. You wait here." I said, patting her neck and sliding off her back. I gave her some food and water to tide her over, then told her to hide from the monsters, but stay within earshot. I had no idea if she understood or not, but she trotted a little distance away. "Here goes nothing." I muttered, then made my way to the base of the Hand.

The hole at the base was small and roughly cut, just big enough for one person at a time. I slid through and into a room. The inside was also made of metal. I wandered down the passageways, torch in hand and sword drawn. Every so often, I would run across a base, apparently set up by explorers. Everything was covered in dust except for the beds, all of which looked like they'd been slept in recently. Other than this, I found no sign of Xephos (I was pretty sure that he was the one I was looking for, as Daisy had described him as the Spaceman). Eventually, I came to a kind of underground spring, with flows of water and dead, hanging vines. Pushing my way through these, I came to a different kind of spring.

A flow of neon green lava was oozing out of the wall. I gave it a wide berth, then continued on my way. After wandering a bit more, I came upon a hallway. There was one room. In it was a bed, a chest, and-

"HOLY SHIT!"I screamed, jumping away from the bloodstained wall, and the rotting remains of a man in spectecals and a Templar uniform. He had obviously been dead a long time, with maggots squirming around in his body and bits of his hair strewn across the ground around him. It looked almost like his midriff had exploded across the wall. Breathing heavily and trying not to vomit, I looked around, picking up the sword I had dropped in my shock. I turned in a circle, looking for any sign of someone who had heard me scream. I shook my head, got control of my nerves, and walked on.

One thankfully bodiless hallway later, I came upon some rusty minecart tracks. Below was an entire lake of the radioactive lava I'd seen before. I looked around. Still no sign of Xephos anywhere. Maybe across the tracks...?

I took a minecart, equally rusty as the rail, and went for the far right track. Okay, I know what you're thinking; are you insane, going on a minetrack without scouting it out first to see if it, oh, I don't know, drops off into a lake of radioactive lava? Well, first off, it's kind of scary walking along minetracks that are hanging over a lake of gods-know-what only a couple feet wide. Second, generally minetracks are complete, and do not lob you over the edge. Call me crazy, but I went on the track.

After a minute or so of sharp turns, steep inclines, and heart-stopping falls, I realized my mistake. Turns out some minetracks do run out. Like mine, for instance.

"OH MY GODS!" I screamed again, jumping out of the minecart just before it hurtled over the edge. I slid along the track for a few feet, and fell. Somehow, I managed to grab onto the ledge. But my grip was slipping, and I couldn't keep it up for very long. I closed my eyes as my fingers slipped, one by one. Finally, the last finger lost its grip, and I began to fall.

Just like Mama. I was going to die, just like Mama.

But, as it turns out, I didn't fall very long, as someone grabbed my hand and pulled me back onto the track.

I opened my eyes to see a man in some kind of red and black suit with a silver pin, a diamond sword, and brown hair. His face was partially covered with a slightly overgrown beard. We stared at each other for a while.

"Thanks." I gasped out. Xephos grinned.

"No problem. If you want to get to the other side, the other two tracks are much safer. They don't, like, throw you off." He said. I was about to reply, when suddenly the ground started shaking. Xephos looked down, and I followed suit. The green lava was bubbling and-was it rising?

"We can't stay here. The lake's about to erupt. Hurry!" Xephos said urgently, dragging me along the track and onto more stable ground. He glanced behind him, and his eyes widened. "Oh, shit! Shitshitshitshitshit!" He said, dragging me down the hallway.

"What? What is it?" I asked, part of me not wanting to know.

"Don't look back! Keep running! Oh, gods!" He said frantically as we ran past the corpse room and into the spring. We sprinted through the Hand, and I could tell without glancing back the the lava was catching up. We came to a crossroads. "I don't know the way out! Fuck!" Xephos said, looking down all the hallways.

"C'mon, I know which way!" I yelled, dragging him behind me. We came into the room with the small hole. "Climb through, climb, climb, climb!"

We emerged in the desert. It wasn't even dawn. I whistled, and River came cantering up to me, a creeper and several skeletons in hot pursuit. I turned to Xephos to tell him to get on, then saw that he wasn't there. I looked all around, then down.

Xephos was collapsed on the ground, shaking weakly. He looked like he was in pain. His eyes were dull. He looked up at me. "H-help." He murmured, then passed out.

"Oh, shit!" I cried, lifting the unconscious Xephos up onto River's back, then clambering up myself. I snapped the reins, and she took off, running away from the Hand, which was now oozing green lava.

I looked Xephos over. No blooming rosettes of blood, no broken bones, no bruise on his head, so he wasn't hurt. I put my hand on his forehead, then drew it away sharply. He was burning up. His breathing was shallow. His face, even in sleep, was contorted in pain. I thought back to what my mother once told me.

_Fever. Pain. Weakness. These are the only symptoms that each victim has in common. Otherwise, the Taint affects each person differently._

So, this was the Taint of Israphel. I could have kicked myself. The grip of the sands. It had been both literal and metaphorical, meaning both that he was concealed within the Hand and that he was suffering from the Taint. Duh! Now, how to fix it?

And, since things just weren't bad enough already, an arrow whizzed by my head, with much more accuracy than any of the skeletal archers could ever manage. Dread filling me, I glanced back to see none other than Israphel, whooshing behind us, seemingly supported by nothing but air. I cursed and fired an arrow if my own at him. It would have caught him in the shoulder (hitting a moving target's while on a horse is harder than it looks) had he not swerved. Cursing some more, I focused on steering River erratically, occasionally firing an arrow at Israphel whenever I thought I could get away with it. More than one obsidian tipped arrow grazed my arm, and I even deflected one with my knife that was about to hit Xephos in the head.

"C'mon, Israphel, you bastard, leave me alone!" I muttered. I needed someplace to hide. Suddenly, I remembered the last time I was running through the desert. Yes, She'd know exactly what to do, as she was omniscient. But how to call her. Tentatively, I thought, Spirit?

A rush of wind, and in front of us, the Oasis appeared, with the dark haired, dark skinned woman with blue green eyes floating just above the ground, her legs crossed indian style. The Oasis was small, just a pool of water and a tree, but its power kept the monsters of the desert away. I slowed River to a walk, then stopped her by the pool. I slid off and carried Xephos over to her.

"Ruth Antioch." The Spirit said. Her voice was as smooth as the spring before her. "What brings you back to the desert so soon after your departure?"

"Please, Spirit. I came looking for him." I said, laying Xephos down in front of her. "He's been afflicted with the Taint of Israphel. Please, help him!"

For the first time that I knew of, the Spirit looked troubled. She passed her hand over Xephos's body, muttering to herself. "He is far within its grip." She murmured finally. "I cannot completely purge it from him, but I can force it back."

"Can he be cured?" I asked desperately.

"Yes. There is only one cure." She scoweled. "Made by that fool of a wizard, Fumblemore. He, you must seek out in Icaria. But now is not the time. He must be healed. Stand back." I drew back nervously.

The Spirit closed her eyes, and began chanting. The wind blew, a pure breeze, cleaner than I, who had grown up in the Nether, ever knew was possible. A large, dark cloud grew over Xephos's chest. Suddenly, light surrounded his body, flowing out of the Spirit's hands. Her chanting grew louder, as the light flowed to the dark cloud, and forced it to shrink. Slowly, slowly, the cloud's size grew smaller, until it was barely the size of a pinhead. At that point, the Spirit broke off her chanting, her form flickering with exaustion. The now tiny cloud sank back into Xephos's chest. The pain in his face didn't fully go away, but faded mostly.

"I'm afraid that is all I can do." The Spirit said tiredly. "It will increase over time, but I have bought you some time, a week at the most. Use it wisely."

"Thank you, Spirit." I said, bowing to her.

"I haven't the strength to send both you, the hero, and the horse back across the wall, but I can give you these." She produced a small, black compass, and a leather bag. "The device will point you in the direction of Icaria. And the bag... Well, it will prove useful later. Save them! Farewell, Ms. Antioch. May the courage of your forebears guide you through these dark times."

The Oasis faded, and Xephos woke up.

"Wh-what... What happened?" He asked groggily, looking around.

"We escaped from the Hand, remember?" I asked. He nodded. "Now we have to go find your friends, Honeydew and Knight Peculier."

"Who?"

I stared at him. "Your friends."

"I don't know any Honeydew or Peculier." Xephos said, frowning.

I looked at him, slightly scared.

"Xephos. Where is the Yogcave?"

"I don't know. Why?" He asked. My insides froze with hopelessness.

It affects everyone differently.

"Oh, shit, son!" I cried in frustration.

"What?"

I told him to shut up and get on the horse.

Our only hope has no memory, I thought to myself as we rode towards Icaria. We are so freaking screwed.


	4. Chapter 4

**Update! So, I did notice many people saying that they thought Xephos and Ruth would make a good couple… It's like you're reading my mind! There may be a bit of romance involved later, but they still have a mission to complete! Glad you like!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Yogscast, Minecraft, or any of their characters, creatures, or plots.**

Chapter Four

The Great Wizard Fumblemore

Well, I thought to myself as the Wall came within sight, maybe his memory will return when he's cured.

I glanced back at Xephos. He was staring hard at the Wall, as though trying to remember something. He'd do that every so often. The entire ride I'd been telling him about the Sand Wars, trying to jog his memory. Occasionally, he'd get this weird look, as though a memory was just below the surface. But, inevitably, the moment would pass, and he'd go back to listening to the bloody, horrible Sand Wars like they were a story, or news from somewhere far away. Something that couldn't and wouldn't affect him.

Something that wasn't even real.

"That's the Wall." I said, pointing at it. "The one that the Templars built."

"Powered by the Spire." He murmured. I shot him a startled look.

"Spire?" I asked. "What spire?"

"It's... I... Don't know." He said. He looked disconcerted for a moment, but was soon back to normal. I sighed.

We came up to the wall. I looked up at it, then climbed the huge sand dune nearby. It would have been impossible to get to the wall from it, if one was not riding a horse.

As we were riding a horse, River got us over easily. We trotted along the wall until we came to the enterance to Icaria.

"We're here from Verigan's Hold. Adaephon sent us." I told the guard, showing him the letter Adaephon had given me. Adaephon had sent word to shut down all the remaining holds along the wall. The letter gave us permission to enter. The guard examined it, then raised the portcullis. We rode inside, and the gate slammed shut immediately behind us.

"Paranoid bunch, aren't they?" I muttered, then proceeded to the stables. I paid for a stall for River, then led Xephos to the inn, where we rented a room. The innkeeper gave us a sly look as he handed us the room key. Not knowing what that meant, I went into the room.

"Look, I like you and all, but separate beds, okay?" Xephos said uneasily. I looked at him funny, then realized what he was saying.

"Oh. Oh." I said. "Yeah, of course. You take the bed, I got the floor." I laughed nervously. He smiled, looking equally awkward, and went to drop his mostly empty bag in the dresser drawer. I looked myself over in the mirror. Only one thing struck me as odd-my eyes had turned a light, lavender purple. They had once been hazel, but then again, that was in the Nether. Who knew what effects the Overworld could have on me? I shook my head and turned to see that Xephos was ready to depart.

"So, we're off to see the wizard?" I said in a falsely cheery voice.

"I suppose. Who's this wizard again?" Xephos asked.

"Fumblemore. He's supposed to have some sort of potion or something. Like an alchemy? Or a spell? I don't know. Let's go find him, then." We left the inn and wandered down the streets. We came into the town square. I looked around for a local who might know where the wizard was.

"That seems vaugely familiar." Xephos said, pointing at something in the sky. "It doesn't look quite right, though." I looked where he was pointing.

A huge, slightly battered tower was floating in the air above the city. It was made mostly of cobblestone, with wooden walkways and roofs. Also, it was upside-down.

I stopped a local. "Excuse me, but how do we get up to the wizard's tower?" I asked. The local looked at me funny.

"Not sure why you'd want to get up there, but... You can ask one of the Skylords for a lift, I heard there's one in town." He said hesitantly. "He'll probably be at the docks." He pointed in the direction of a large tower (on the ground) with an airship docked in the landing bay.

"Thanks." I said, then led the way there. I went inside to see a stocky man in a blue tunic and goggles with dark hair talking to the man behind the desk. He finished his conversation, then turned towards us.

"Xephos?!" He gasped. He ran over to us. "I thought you had gone missing! I only just received word from Daisy, I was stopping here on my way to New Mistral. What happened?"

"Er, sorry, but do I know you?" Xephos asked. The man looked slightly offended.

"It's me, Lysander."

"Um, Lysander, Skylord, sir?" Lysander turned towards me. "Xephos has been afflicted by the Taint of Israphel. It caused him to lose his memory. He doesn't remember a thing." I explained awkwardly. Lysander glared at me critically.

"What are you talking about, lost memory?" Said Xephos. "I remember everything! I just haven't met this guy before."

I looked at him funny. "Isabel Peculier."

"Who?"

"Exactly. Sorry, Skylord, sir." I said, turning back to Lysander, who seemed to decide to act as though the whole exchange between Xephos and I hadn't occurred.

"I see. And who might you be?" He asked suspiciously.

"Ruth. I found Xephos, in the desert." I said. Lysander's eyes widened.

"The desert? You ventured into the desert to find him?" He asked in a hushed voice. I nodded. "How do you yet live?"

"I'm good at fighting. If you know what to do, a short exursion's not that difficult." I replied just as quietly. "I've brought him here to see Fumblemore, but I need a ride to his tower. Do you think you could help us?"

Lysander hesitated. "Yes, alright." He walked back to the desk. "I'll be taking the Celano out for a little while, I'll be back soon." The clerk nodded boredly. "This way." Lysander led us up a set of stairs to the dock. We boarded his ship. In neat cursive, the name "Celano II" was carved upon the outside.

"I can only take you to his tower and back." Lysander said apologetically. "I must see to the defense of New Mistral. Adaephon sent word to the Skylords."

"That's okay." I replied. Xephos was standing at the rail of the ship, looking out into the distance.

"He'll be alright, won't he?" Lysander asked quietly.

"Once we get him the cure, he should be fine. Whether his memory returns is another matter." I muttered.

"I think it will. A friend of mine, Peculier, was afflicted with the taint. It caused him to age prematurely. But after drinking the potion, he seemed to regain some of his youthfulness. One would assume that the same thing will happen with Xephos's memory." Lysander reasoned. I nodded, trying not to let him see just how much the name "Peculier" had jarred me, being thrown out without warning. My mother's maiden name, and the name of the siblings I'd never known. _Do not think about Mama._

It took barely five minutes to get to Fumblemore's tower. Xephos and I got off at the dock. "Let's get going." I said, and led the way into the tower.

Note: Navigating an upside-down tower that is already difficult to navigate is not the key to a good time.

You probably don't want to hear details, but suffice it to say that we eventually made it to the wizard's office. His furniture, thankfully, was rightside-up, so he was sitting at his desk, poring over some book. I cleared my throat. He didn't look up.

"Um, hello?" I asked. He didn't respond. "Hello?!" He glanced up.

"Ah, hello. Who are you?" He asked, in a slightly nasally voice.

"I am Xephos, hero of Minecraftia." Xephos said, then blinked as though he weren't quiet sure where that had come from.

"Er, I am Ruth, hero..." I trailed off. It wasn't as though I could say "hero of the Nether" or "hero of the Desert". That'd just make me seem evil. "Daughter of Karpath"? He'd probably mistake me for Isabel. Maybe "Honorary Templar"?

"I am the great wizard Fumblemore." The wizard said, flourishing his wand, so that it caused a small explosion, shattering the window. "Oops." He scrutinized Xephos. "So you're back. What is it you need this time?"

"Please, sir, he's lost his memory." I said before Xephos could answer. Fumblemore kept staring expectantly at Xephos. "Hello? HELLO?!" I yelled. He turned to me.

"Oh, yes?" I face-palmed.

"XEPHOS IS SUFFERING FROM THE TAINT!" I yelled, gesturing at Xephos. "WE NEED YOU TO CURE HIM! You crazy bugger." I added under my breath.

"Erm, sorry? I don't have any paint." I groaned in frustration.

"Excuse me?" A young man around my age with dark hair and a blue robe came through the door. "You'll have to excuse my Master. His hearing isn't what it used to be." He said apologetically, extending his hand. I shook it.

"We've noticed." I grumbled. "I'm Ruth, and this is-"

"Xephos, right? I'm Arctus, Fumblemore's trainee. What kind of taint did you say he was suffering from?" Arctus asked.

"Okay, this whole ordeal seems a bit familiar..." Xephos mused. "Like Deja-Vu."

"Well, as you've lost your memory..." I replied.

"Lost memory?" Xephos scoffed. "Don't be ridiculous."

I glared at him. "Daisy Duke."

"Who?"

"Exactly. The Taint of Israphel." I replied to Arctus's question. He nodded, then produced a piece of paper and a quill. He quickly jotted down a note and shoved it in front of his master, who picked it up and read it thoughtfully.

"Taint of Israphel, eh? Well, I could brew up a potion that cures all diseases, taints, and curses." Fumblemore finally responded, tallying them off on his fingers. I merely nodded to avoid confusion. "Yes. Alright. So, we need a bucket of holy water, five feathers, five ounces of gunpowder, five ounces of dirt, and, finally, two golden apples," Fumblemore said, ticking off the ingredients on his fingers.

My heart sank. Gunpowder? Golden apples? Where was I going to get those? "THANK YOU!" I said. "You insane pyromaniac bastard." I muttered, following Xephos out of the office. What was I going to do?


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry for the long wait! I'm back now, but I had some personal issues coupled with school starting, so… apologies!**

**Disclaimer; I do not own the Yogscast, Minecraft, or any of their characters, creatures, or senarios.**

Chapter Five

Epic Quest

"Let's go." Xephos said, then frowned. "Where are we going?"

"I dunno. Where do we go to get two golden a-" I froze, then rummaged in my bag. After a moment, I pulled out the small leather pouch that the Spirit had given me. Inside was a pristine, glowing golden apple.

"Nice." I jumped and whirled around to see Arctus admiring the Golden Apple. "One down, one to go. I thought I'd tag along." He explained at my questioning look. "Thought you might need a guide around Icaria."

"Thanks."

"Where did you get that?" Xephos asked. "Aren't they, like, super rare?"

"A friend gave it to me." I said, staring at the apple in disbelieving reverence. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, Spirit! I'll, like, sacrifice a pig to you at midnight, or something like that. On second thought, maybe some creeper sacrifices would be more useful. And some chickens."

"Is there supposed to be dirt in this potion? I don't think I quite like this." Xephos said apprehensively.

"Yeah, that does seem a bit dodgy, but if it's going to heal you... I mean, it's worked before, according to Lysander." I said reasonably.

We boarded the Celano. Lysander set off, then looked at us, concerned. "I heard an explosion. Fumblemore's introduction, I presume?"

"Yup. Is he always like that?" I asked.

"Well, actually, he's usually worse." Arctus supplied. "I'm his apprentice, Arctus." He said to Lysander, who shook his hand.

"Skylord Lysander. Pleased to make your acquaintance." He greeted formally.

Lysander dropped us off at the tower a couple minutes later, then took off almost immediately. Arctus, Xephos, and I went down into the streets.

"So, where too for feathers?" Xephos asked. I frowned.

"When we walked by the market, did you see anyone selling chicken?" I asked.

"No chickens for sale here." Arctus said regretfully. "You'd have to get them off zombies. Although, why they carry feathers is anyone's guess."

"Damn. Well, we could hunt wild birds." I cursed.

"Or we could just pull the feathers off of some arrows." Xephos suggested. We stared at him.

"Where'd you come up with that?" Arctus asked.

"It just came to me. Must you look so surprised?" Xephos said irritatedly.

"Sorry, it's just a really good idea." I said, pulling an arrow out of my quiver and stripping it of feathers. "That's one problem solved. Now, dirt'll be easy. The hard part is going to be gunpowder and the second golden apple."

"We need to hunt creepers?"

"Yup. That'll be fun." I sighed. "Well, we can't do anything until nightfall, so let's head back to the inn-Xephos? Xephos!" Suddenly, the spaceman had leaned against a wall, breathing heavily and clutching his head. Then he looked up.

"M-my head hurt, all of a sudden. Is that normal, for taint? Th-that usually happens?" He asked shakily.

"Yes." Arctus said, concerned. My heart sank. So little time. If he has an episode like this in battle... What if I'm not there to protect him? I shoved the thought away. I'd just have to be careful, that's all. I'd have to go by the bodyguard motto; watch your charge's back before your own, and take a hit for them if necessary. Not a good way to stay alive, but... Well, he was needed more than I.

You're wrong, Ruth. I suppressed a scream at the sound of Israphel's voice in my head. In some ways, you are the most important. Peculier is strong, brave, and talented. The heroes are ingenuitive, creative, determined. You, on the other hand, have the intelligence, the knowledge, the reason that the group needs to succeed. If you make it to me, you may not strike the blow against me. But you will be the driving force behind the attack. That is, if you can find the heroes in the first place.

"Get out of my head, you fucking bastard." I growled quietly. The others looked at me, confused.

"Are you okay?" Xephos asked, like I was the one who had just nearly collapsed due to a deadly taint, not him.

I waited. Israphel didn't respond. "I'm fine." I said after a while. I turned to Arctus. "Do you know where to get holy water? Or the second golden apple?"

He thought about it. "The holy water can be obtained easily enough from the church. Mrs. Miggles is a friend of mine, and her husband is the preacher there. I should be able to get us some holy water. As for the apple," A sly glint entered his eyes. "That can be obtained from our resident Skylord."

"Who might that be?" I asked. "Lysander?"

"Nope." Arctus said, barely able to keep the laughter out of his voice. "A man named Jasper."

"So we're going to rob Skylord Jasper?" Xephos asked. We were idling outside his house, acting inconspicuous. Or at least, as inconspicuous as a spaceman, an under rested heroine, and a wizard in training can look. "This seems familiar. I think I may have done this before."

"Maybe. Anyway, Jasper has loads of treasure. His family is an old one, and that's where most of it comes from." Arctus said, glancing at the darkened windows. "He's not in. He must be seeing to Skyhold right now."

"So won't his door be locked?" I asked as we crept up to the door, checking that the street was deserted. Arctus grinned and pulled out his wand.

"All the doors in the city are connected to a master key, held by Skylord Jasper. But, if you're a wizard, you don't need a key." He waved his wand discreetly, muttering a spell, and the lock clicked after a few sparks flew out of it. It smoked slightly as Arctus pushed the now unlocked door open.

"Does it usually smoke?" I asked. Arctus merely smiled mischievously as he shut the door. We went inside, searching around. Jasper had loads of chests, all of them filled with mushroom stew (what?), luridly pink and purple clothes and towels (umm...), and weird white powder wrapped in paper.

"What the heck is this stuff?" I asked, pulling some out. Xephos and Arctus saw what I was holding, exchanged awkward glances, then told me to put it down.

"I'll, erm, explain later." Xephos muttered. Blushing slightly, I put the weird powder away. Inadvertently, I had once again shown off my limited knowledge of the Overworld. After my mother had died, Israphel had sort of fancied himself a "father figure" and I had told him, in no uncertain terms, that he was not my anything but a pain in the ass. Funnily enough, this displeased him.

We proceeded up the floors, searching every chest, until, suddenly tired, Xephos had leaned up against a bookcase in the top floor. The case slid silently aside, revealing a hidden cubbyhole. We exchanged glances.

"In a bookcase? Really?" I asked no one in particular, then walked up to the altar within. Redstone torches lit the inside with "mood lighting", just enough to keep monsters from spawning within, as a creeper in your wall is not a very good thing to have.

A small ornate box stood on the altar. It was locked, but Arctus took care of it in no time, and I opened it. Inside, sitting on a red cushion, was an beautiful, shining, pristine Golden Apple. We stared at it in reverence.

I was about to pick it up when I heard a slightly high-pitched voice grumble from downstairs; "That idiotic maid, I told her to lock the door after I'd left, and what does she go and do?"

We looked at each other, panicked. Figuring that if we were going to rob him, we may as well do it right, we grabbed the diamond, gold, and silver jewelry and ingots hung about the treasure room, closed the room, and climbed the stairs to the roof. Once up there, I looked at Arctus desperately.

"Tell me you know a spell to make us fly." I said. He thought for a moment.

"I can't make us fly," He said slowy. "But I can cushion our fall. We have to jump."

"Wait, we have to wha- AAAAAGH!" Xephos yelled as I shoved him off the roof. I followed, Arctus close behind. I closed my eyes, bracing myself for impact. Suddenly, I let out an "Oof!" as I fell to the pavement, which suddenly felt like a huge pile of pillows. We stood up, and ran off down the road.

"Well," I said once we were safely in the inn room, our bags stuffed with gold, diamonds, and silver, and the Golden Apple on the small table in front of us. "I think we've gotten away with it. I mean, what we've gotten away with there is thievery."

"Of, like, an upstanding politician of Icaria." Xephos agreed. "Well, now that we have the Apple and all this loot, what do we do?"

"You rest." I said firmly. "It's night now. I'm off hunting creepers."

"Is that safe?" Arctus asked. "I mean, creepers explode. And there are other things out there as well; zombies, skeletal archers, giant spiders-"

"I'll be fine."

"I could come with you." Xephos offered weakly. The moment we had gotten back, he had collapsed onto the bed, exhausted, despite how short the run had been. I shook my head.

"I want you to stay here. Once I get the gunpowder and the dirt, Arctus can get us the holy water, and we'll have all the ingredients. Then we can get Fumblemore to make the potion, and Xephos will be cured." I said, ticking the events off on my fingers. "But, frankly, Xephos, I can't have you collapsing on me in a fight, especially when creepers are involved. I'm sorry, but I can't have you risking yourself. I'll be fine. I've been training to fight monsters since I could hold a sword."

He looked like he wanted to argue, but, finally, Xephos nodded. I grinned and said, "Back in a flash." Then ran out into the growing night.

From what I knew of creepers, I figured that it would be a good idea to perch up in a tree and snipe them with my bow. This was a good plan, but I never got to implement it.

A strangled hiss sounded behind me as I entered the forest, and I whirled around, sword flashing, to see the biggest spider I had ever seen charge at me. Wild thoughts of a legendary, monstrous spider called Shelob running through my mind, I slammed it in the face with the butt of my sword, stunning it, then launched into a jump, landing behind the creature and slicing it's hairy black abdomen open, quickly killing the beast.

Before I could congratulate myself on not getting killed, a different kind of hiss reached my ears, and, without pausing to think, I ran a couple of yards into the woods before turning to see the green creature advancing on me slowly, its mottled, slimy face caught in a perpetual scream. I quickly drew my bow and, still backing up, put an arrow between his eyes. Creepers, not being the most intelligent beings, do not know that when one's enemy drew a bow, one's best chance of survival was to get the hell away from there. Then again, as these creatures generally tend to explode in your face, killing themselves, I doubted they were all that fussed about the whole survival concept.

I cut open its body and managed to extract about an ounce of gunpowder from the special sack in its midriff. I grimaced. If this kept up, I'd have to kill four more creepers. If I was lucky, however, two more would suffice. Some creepers had two ounces of gunpowder in them. Of course, they were more dangerous if they went off, but... Well worth it if you needed gunpowder.

Finally, I climbed a tree, dispatching the spiders lurking in it (what is it with them and trees?) and scouted around. In the distance, I saw two creepers creeping along the treeline near the city. Figuring that at least Lysander would be pleased that I had protected Icaria, I sniped them from where I was, taking them both down with a few well-placed arrows. I quickly went and raided their bodies. Smiling to myself, I pocketed the gunpowder. Only one more and I could-

"Hisssssssssss!" I whirled around to see a creeper, expanding and fit to burst. Just as the scent of gunpowder filled the air, and I stumbled back half a step in a vain attempt to put some distance between the creeper and I when a glowing blue sword erupted from the creature's chest. I watched in astonishment as the blade was removed, and the creeper fell to the ground, shriveling up, dead. Xephos, breathing heavily, stood in front of me, his diamond sword covered in monster goo.

"I thought I'd follow you." He said casually. "And it's a good thing I did, too, if the first thing you do is nearly get yourself killed. You never let yourself be distracted at night, especially when creepers are involved. I'm an amnesiac and I know that." He cocked his head to the side. "You aren't from the Overworld, are you?"

"What makes you say that?" I asked, my heart racing back up again.

"You don't know that much about things that are common knowledge. And what you know about monsters is textbook stuff, not real life experience." Xephos said apologetically. "Where are you from, anyway?"

I hesitated. I supposed that I shouldn't be surprised that he'd figured it out. Even if he had lost his memory, he still had all of his general knowledge, and he wasn't stupid. I sighed. "You have to promise not to tell anyone unless I say you can. Okay?" Xephos nodded. "I'm from the Nether. I was raised there, after Israphel kidnapped my mother and I. I only escaped a little while ago, just before I rescued you."

Xephos thought for a minute. "You know, I think what you said will actually make sense once I get my memory back. We have the sulfur, I grabbed some dirt, we have the apples, and we have the feathers. We should go check and see if Arctus has the Holy Water yet."

"Good idea." I said, glad for the first and last time that Xephos had no memory and didn't know that most things that come from the Nether were far from good. I was still contemplating this when we were distracted by the sight of the church.

Arctus was running around with a sealed bucket in his hands, yelling as an old woman beat him with her purse and a cat made what looked like a real effort to maul the young wizard's ankles. He saw us, yelled, "Run for it!" And led the way to the tower. He cast some kind of levitation spell that took us right to his master's office, conveniently enough, and turned to us, panting.

"Um... So, Mrs. Miggles wasn't quiet as keen to help me as I'd hoped." He said sheepishly. We laughed.

"Well, we have all the ingredients here." I said, checking in my satchel. I turned and glared accusatorially at Arctus. "I thought you didn't know a spell to make us fly?"

"That spell will only take us up." Arctus explained. "And as Jasper's roof is the highest, him being a Skylord and all, it wouldn't have even helped us land on a different roof."

"Fine." I sighed. "Let's just get Fumblemore to make the potion and get out of here." I led the way into the office. We didn't even bother trying to yell this time, instead letting Arctus write out what we wanted on a piece of paper, then lay out the ingredients before the old wizard. He quickly realized what we wanted, and set to work.

"This seems familiar." Xephos muttered.

"In what way?" I asked.

"In a 'you may want to stand back' kind of way." He said, backing up uneasily. I did the same. Arctus erected a sort of magical shield around himself.

"Ta-da!" Fumblemore said finally. He brought forth the closed bucket the Holy Water had been stored in. "One cure all potion, ready for consumption. Be sure that you haven't ingested any flammable materials before drinking, as it may still burst into flames." Having delivered both his potion and his warning, he sat back down at his desk. Saying goodbye to Arctus, who did his bouncy ground spell again to give us a safe landing, we made our way back to the inn.

"Well," I said, placing the bucket on the table between us. "We have the potion. Let's hope this works." I began to lift the cap off the potion, which was undoubtedly going to be like melted gold, or perhaps an iridescent rainbowy white, or perfectly clear without a single bubble. I lifted the cap, and we peered inside, to find...

"A bucket of muddy water with two golden apples and some feathers in it." I said in a flat voice. And so it was. "Oh, yes, and some gunpowder. So what we have here is the worlds most valuable, explosive bucket of sludge."

"Okay, there is no freaking way I'm drinking that shit." Xephos said emphatically. "It'll, like, poison me. And don't forget, this is Fumblemore's work. There's a 50% chance of explosion, most likely."

"Well, if it's worked before..." I said dubiously. Xephos stared at me in disbelief. "Oh, come on. You either drink it, or die. Slowly and painfully. Take your pick." I said impatiently. Xephos hesitated, then, accepting that he had no choice, slowly lifted the bucket to his lips, and drank.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then, suddenly, Xephos gasped. A black cloud, not as big as it had been when the Spirit had begun her ceremony, but considerably larger than it was when she had finished, oozed from the spaceman's chest. With a flash of light, golden clouds circled the blob, assaulting it, reducing it in seconds to the merest pinprick, and then to nothing. Xephos collapsed out of his chair and onto the ground. I jumped up and crouched beside him.

"Are you okay?" I asked. He groaned and sat up groggily.

"Yeah, I'm fi-" He gasped, clutching his head. His eyes were wide, not with pain, but shock. After a moment, he looked up, his face horrified. "Oh, gods. I forgot Daisy, and Peculier, and Lysander, and-Oh, shit, I even forgot Honeydew! How the hell could I have forgotten Honeydew?! Oh, crap! He's in danger, we have to save-" Suddenly, he stared closely at my face, suspicion written across his own.

"What is it?" I asked nervously.

"Ever since I met you, I thought you looked familiar." He said slowly. "Even when I had lost my memory, there was something about you... I know I haven't met you before. But you look a hell of a lot like somebody I know. Two somebodies." Dread filled me.

"Do I?" I murmured, not meeting his eyes.

"Yes, you do." He said just as quietly. "Purple eyes. I've only met two people with eyes that shade of purple. Their name's are Isabel Peculier and Verigan Peculier. They're siblings." He paused. "You said you came from the Nether. Their mother was captured and taken to the Nether when they were very young. She's your mother too, isn't she? You're their sister, aren't you?"

"Yes." I whispered. "Please, please, please don't tell either of them."

"Why not? Why all the secrecy, Ruth?" Xephos asked.

"I just... Don't know how they'll react to me. Mother died in the Nether. I escaped. I lived. What if they..." I trailed off. What if they hate me? For living instead of mother?

Xephos seemed to get that I didn't want to talk about it, and he brightened considerably. "Well, I feel perfectly fine now." He said, getting to his feet and helping me to do the same. "I say you get some sleep, and we set off to find Honeydew and KP first thing in the morning. What d'you say?"

"That sounds great." I said wearily, pulling out the sheet of paper from the Spirit. A new verse had appeared below the one for Xephos;

The dwarven hero of the mountain halls,

Is locked away where the ocean calls.

"What's that?" Xephos asked, reading it over my shoulder.

"A hint on where to find Honeydew." I explained. "Any idea what it means?"

Xephos frowned, then grimaced. "I have a fair idea. And I know how to get there." He said cryptically, and then refused to say any more on the matter.


	6. Chapter 6

**Very, very, VERY sorry for the ridiculously long wait! I've been struggling with chronic writer's block, but it's gone now, and I have the next few chapters ready to be uploaded, so it should be on schedule from now on! Also, a little treat for you Yognau(gh)ts out there, I updated and improved the Shaki story, so check it out!**

**DISCLAIMER; I do not own Minecraft or the Yogscast, or any of their characters, creatures, or senarios.**

Chapter Six

A Pirate's Life for Me

The next morning we purchased a horse for Xephos as soon as the stables were open, and set off. Xephos's horse, a handsome mottled grey and white stallion he called "Galileo", was a speedy and sturdy beast. I stuck with River, who was happy to be ridden again.

We took a road going vaguely towards Old Mistral, but after a few hours of riding, we passed it by. "Where are we going?" I asked finally, unable to be patient any longer. Xephos glanced back at me, looking grim.

"A place called Barbeque Bay. An old friend can usually be found there, arguing with her fellow pirates. You might be particularly interested to meet her."

"Pirates?" I asked, excited. Mother had told me about pirates, and they always seemed to lead exciting lives. "Why would I be particularly interested?"

"Because," Xephos said, grinning. "Her name is Isabel. Isabel Peculier." He laughed at my startled expression. "We're going there because I'm pretty sure that Honeydew is on the Survival Island. Israphel imprisoned us there, to waylay us on our quest to defeat him. 'Locked away where the ocean calls' remember?" I nodded weakly. I was going to meet my sister. "Isabel is particularly, ah, friendly with Honeydew, so I think she'll help us out."

"Friendly, huh?" I said dazedly. My sister was a pirate, who was apparently going out with a dwarf. Well, if their dates involved beer they should be fine.

"Yeah, if you know what I mean." Xephos said, laughing slightly. "Well, BBQ Bay is just ahead, see it?"

Sure enough, a huge wooden structure was coming into view, platforms of wood in the water with inns, pubs, and what looked like a ship on top of it. Docked nearby the platforms were several ships, including a great yellow one, and a slightly smaller one with black sails.

"That's Isabel's ship." He said, pointing out the black sailed one. "The Black Pimple."

"The Black What-Now?"

"Pimple. Still not sure why she named it that, but I haven't got the- er, I haven't asked her about it yet." Xephos said awkwardly. I smirked. "There's an okay stable nearby where we can store Galileo and River."

"That reminds me." I said as we steered so we were riding along the bay. "Shouldn't we get a horse for your friend?"

"Ah, well..." Xephos said, smirking. "Honeydew's a dwarf, see. He isn't particularly fond of horses. He'll just ride with me. Here's the stables!"

We dropped off the horses with a friendly looking man, and paid for stables, food, and a small rowboat. We set off from the dock, heading for BBQ Bay.

"Let's see... It's a little after noon, so Isabel should be in the pub right about now." Xephos mused as he rowed. I had tried to row, but proved so abysmal at it that he took over. He docked the boat at one of the many piers around the bay and led the way up a ladder to the top floor. We went into the boat which was built out of the main building.

"Wait a minute." I muttered, grabbing Xephos's arm to stop him. He turned around, eyebrows raised. "There's an argument going on." I explained. "We should wait a moment."

"I can't permit you to stay here!" A woman cried angrily. "The last time you and that unnatural underwater ship of yours made port-"

"We had to rebuild the entire bay. Yeh burned it down to the las' piece o' kindling." A slightly gravelly, deep voice finished. "We thought yeh was dead, Fireblast. Haven' yeh the decency to stay tha' way?"

Xephos tensed as the next voice argued. "Come on, now, mateys. What's past is past. Yeh should be looking at me with reverence. I've come back from the dead!"

"With the help of your master." The woman muttered angrily.

"I still ain't got the smoke outa Captain Sparklies fur!" An older voice with a heavy accent put in, emphasized by a canine growl.

"Yeh facin' the wrong way again, Angus." The deeper voice sighed.

"Awrite!" The accented man agreed, presumably turning around.

"We have to get in there!" Xephos whispered. "The bastard, Fireblast, he's dangerous! He's a Cultist of Israphel, and more of a pyro than Honeydew, and he loves fire almost more than he loves beer!"

"Wow. That's a lot. So we're going to have to kill him?" I whispered back.

"Looks like it. Again. Gods, I really hate it when something like this happens." Xephos muttered, drawing his sword.

"This has happened to you before?" I asked.

"Yes." He said, then charged into the room. What looked like a pirate dwarf with a hole right through his middle was sitting at a table, a huge mug in his hand already half empty of beer. His drinking companion was an elderly man with two eyepatches (looking in completely the wrong direction) and a scruffy looking wolf dog lying at his feet. A well-groomed man in a red suit and black dress pants was standing, yelling at the woman. And the woman...

For a wild moment I thought it was my mother, but upon closer inspection I realized that she was much younger than Minthor, with a different shaped face, and a haughty expression that you would never have caught on my mother's face. She was standing as well, yelling at the man across the table. A robotic man flanked her, arms crossed, glaring at the red suited man as if thinking THREAT THREAT THREAT.

"Isabel!" Xephos cried, running foreword. Isabel turned, and, in that moment, Fireblast attacked. He raised his cutlass, poised to slit her throat, when, quick as lightning, I drew my bow, notched an arrow, and fired it into his shoulder. He cried out in pain and fell to the floor. I drew my own sword and pinned him up against the wall, my blade at his neck.

"I don't like people who attack when their enemy's back is turned." I growled. He stared at me, an insane red light in his eyes. An odd smell hung around him, almost like something horrid covered up in cologne...

"My master rewarded me." He croaked. "I cannot die, and if I do, I will come back soon enough. Worry not, girl. I'll return. I'll return." He trailed off, and, with horror, I realized that the weird smell was rotten flesh covered in perfume. His skin held a slight green hue, and his wound wasn't bleeding.

"He's a zombie!" I cried in disgust, and, without thinking, I beheaded him. He fell to the floor, the maneuver having killed him, and lay there, thick, half clotted blood oozing onto the pub floor.

"Yeh'll be cleanin' that up, missy." The annoyed barkeeper muttered. Isabel walked over to me.

"Thank you. Jock surely would have killed me had you not shot him." Isabel said. "Normally, I would introduce myself as The Dread Pirate Norris, but as Xephos here has already given you my name, I am Isabel Peculier." She held out her hand.

"Ruth. Just Ruth." I said, shaking her hand. "That guy was a Cultist?"

"Yes. How do you know about the Cult of Israphel?" Isabel asked.

"I told her." Xephos spoke up. "Perhaps we should speak on your ship, Isabel? If Spacker is willing to accompany us?" He glanced back at the zombie dwarf, who nodded his assent. "Good."

Isabel led the way to her ship, Xephos quietly filling her in. I reluctantly fell in next to Spacker. "So..." I said awkwardly. "How did you get a gaping hole in your stomach?" To my surprise, he laughed, then coughed a bit.

"Argh, very straightforward, aren' yeh?" He said, still chuckling and coughing. "Got on the wrong side o' a cannonball, see? Got meh straight through the middle."

"But how are you still alive?"

"I wasn' in the mood ter die. So I just kept on livin'." He said, shrugging. I decided to take that as an end to the conversation.

Once we were aboard The Black Pimple, Isabel turned to me. "Xephos filled me in. I must thank you for rescuing him, and for saving Daisy from Israphel. I understand you are looking for Honeydew?"

"Yeah, that's right." I replied. "Xephos says that you might be able to help us get to him?"

She grinned. "Of course. There's no patch of ocean the Pimple can't get to. Xephos has given me the coordinates. We set sail immediately."

The journey went on easily enough, and I must say, after years of living in the Nether, open ocean was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. No lava. No fire. No land. Just wonderful, beautiful, endless water.

I stood at the bow most of the trip, letting the spray hit my face. After an hour or two, Xephos walked up to me.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" I asked. He looked at me oddly.

"After a few hours? I thought it was getting a little monotonous." He said lightly.

"I could watch it all day." I replied.

"Well, as you grew up in the Nether, an ocean like this must be completely new to you." Xephos whispered. I blushed.

"I'd still think it was beautiful. How much longer is the trip going to take?" I asked, turning back towards the ocean.

"Another hour or two." Isabel called from where she was steering. "The point of the place isn't to be far away, but to be hard to find. You can only find it if you aren't looking for it, or if you have the exact coordinates."

"Wow. Doesn't that seem a little elaborate?" I asked. Isabel merely shrugged and adjusted the steering wheel (or whatever it's called) a little. Sure enough, after another hour and a half or so, Spacker cried, "Land ho!"

A tiny desert island appeared in the distance, a wooden building with cobblestone masonry standing out next to a small cluster of trees. The remenants of a farm jutted out from the main island, but none of the wheat was even close to being ready for harvest. As we drew closer, I noticed that the wooden building had fallen into disrepair, the wood rotting and moldy, the cobblestone chipped, with stones missing. I pointed this out to Xephos, who frowned.

"That's odd." He muttered, looking at the small house through Isabel's telescope. "Honeydew usually takes great pains to keep his creations looking well. He is a dwarf, after all. He hasn't been up above in a while." He handed the telescope to Tinman. "He must be in the mine."

"Whatever you do, please don't tell me you dug too deep." I said emphatically. We were standing in front of the enterance to the mine, staring at it with apprehension. Xephos laughed slightly.

"Not that I know of, but who knows what Honeydew's been up to down here." Xephos said, still smirking. "Probably dwarfin' it up. Inside joke. I'll tell you about it later." He added at my perplexed look. "Let's get moving." He drew his sword and went into the underground mine shack, me following suit.

At first it looked like a typical mine shaft, turning a corridor every yard or so, until we came to some ruins of mossy cobblestone. An early memory of the lessons my mother would give me surfaced. "A dungeon?" I asked.

"Yeah." Xephos replied. Suddenly he held out a hand to stop me. "Look." He said quietly, pointing down to the bottom of the makeshift staircase. I gasped at what I saw.

A small metal cage covered in evil runes and filled with black fire stood in the middle of the dungeon. A center glyph depicted a skull crossed with arrows.

"Skeletal Archer spawner." I whispered, reaching into my bag for some torches. "Maybe it hasn't been spaw- agh!"

I fell to the ground with an arrow in my arm, crying out in pain. Skeletons came out of the shadows, arrows and bolts notched in their bows and crossbows. I scrambled backwards, trying to get my sword out of its scabbard, but my injured arm wouldn't bend right. "Xephos!" I cried, rolling to avoid an arrow. Xephos jumped down from the stairs, diamond sword glowing in the dark. He slashed through one skeleton as he fell, and quickly dispatched another two unsuspecting archers with a wide arc. I managed to grab a torch and lit it on a nearby one, jamming it into the spawner before another skeleton could form. Xephos hurriedly killed the last skeleton and ran over to me.

"Well, this is embarrassing." I muttered. Xephos bit his lip and grabbed the arrow shaft. "Ow!" I cried, trying to push his hand away.

"It has to come out, Ruth, I'm sorry, but it's going to hurt." He said, grimacing. I nodded, and closed my eyes as he quickly pulled the arrow out and tied off the wound with a spare bit of cloth. I opened my eyes and got to my feet, hesitantly flexing my arm. It could move properly again, but I didn't want to try holding/using my sword or bow.

"Probably a good idea." Xephos said when I'd told him as much. "A knife'll be safer, but only use it if you have to." He pulled an iron poniard off his belt and handed it to me. I swung it experimentally. It hurt, but not so much that I couldn't push through it. "Isabel has some healing potions up in her ship. We could go back and-"

"No. We have to continue." I replied forcefully. "Israphel must know you've escaped by now. Even if he doesn't know we're here now, he'll know soon enough, and we can't risk him tightening security, or worse, moving the prison site. Who knows if we'll get another chance?" Xephos tried to argue, but I cut him off with a look, and stood up. "Which way now?" I asked.

"Probably... This way." He gestured to one of the passageways. "The other direction just dead-ends, but this one has a ravine at some point... And another dungeon."

"Delightful." I sighed. "Well, I may as well hold the torch, since I won't be much good in a fight anyway." He nodded and led the way, me close behind, holding the torch aloft with my left hand, and the poniard with my injured right. I glanced at the walls. Every so often, an unlit torch would be set in a nitch in the stone. Xephos glanced back as I lit one, and frowned.

"That's funny." He said. "There used to be more torches than this. And they were lit. Honeydew loves setting things on fire. You'd think he'd have at least relit them, if not the surrounding area." I smirked slightly, but sobered up at Xephos's serious expression.

"He'll be fine." I said, guessing at the source of his worry. "He's a dwarf. There's not much that could mess with one and get away with it."

"But this is Israphel we're talking about." Xephos said, confirming my guess. "Who knows what he's put in here. And like you said, Honeydew's a dwarf. You joked about it earlier, but... What if he did dig too deep?"

"You mean... He may have "found" something?" I asked nervously. Xephos nodded. "Oh, great. Just great. Just what we need. A freaking giant, or worse." I said with a mixture of fear and anger.

"Come on, we don't know for sure yet." Xephos said reassuringly. "Let's just keep going and-" I nearly ran into him as he suddenly stopped.

"What is it?" I asked, coming to stand beside him. Then I too froze, staring at the wall between two passageways. Lines were carved into the stone.

_One path leads to your prize,_

_One leads only to death,_

_One may enter the lair,_

_And one where the prisoner's kept._

"Oh, shit, son." Xephos said.

"Okay, this is how I see it." I said. "There are two paths. One leads to where Honeydew is being kept, and the other leads to some sort of monster. The paths are bewitched so that only one person can enter each one. He knew you wouldn't come alone."

"Right." Xephos said, snapping out of his confusion. "I don't like this, Ruth. We shouldn't split up. I mean, you're injured. What if your path is the one with the monster?"

"Ummmm... I'll run like hell?" I suggested. "Look, we don't have a choice. Do you want to find Honeydew or not?"

"Of course I-" Xephos began indignantly.

"Then take the right path, I got left." I said, then promptly took the left path, leaving Xephos staring confusedly after me.


	7. Chapter 7

**Alright, alright, I get it. I leave you with a cliffhanger for months on end. You have full rights to hate me now. But I have a new plan! Just update the moment a chapter is done! Problem solved!**

**And thank you SO MUCH Olivia-Ivy for getting me to post this chapter and all my other stories! Remember, reviews are the cure to my procrastination! It makes me realize people are actually, you know, waiting for me.**

Chapter Seven

We Dig too Deep

Perhaps I should explain the whole "They dug too deep" thing.

You see, it all started with an old legend called "The Lord of the Rings". At one point, the heroes came to an abandoned dwarf city with a huge Mithril mine in it. It was so deep, that it awoke a monster in its depths. This sort of thing happened every so often. For example, my mother had told me about the Deepcore in Stoneholm, which had been taken over by giants, due to it having come into their cave at bedrock level. Thus, it had become common for people to be worried about dwarves having "dug too deep" when entering their mines.

Anyway, I walked quickly along the corridor, oddly enough not coming across any mobs, despite the near perpetual darkness and lack of any torches, lit or otherwise. It put me on edge, and I jumped at even the slightest noise-the dripping water, the low moan of the air shifting in the cave, and even the occasional imagined footstep.

It felt like hours in the darkness, but after about fifteen minutes of walking I saw a literal light at the end of the tunnel. I started walking faster, then stopped myself, thinking of every story about the beasts that haunted dwarven mines my mother had told me about. I paused, straining my ears for the slightest sound. Finally I heard, very, very faintly, the ping of a pick on rock, heavy breathing, and... Was that singing?

Confused, I crept cautiously down the tunnel, the distant light getting slowly bigger, the song becoming decipherable; "I'm a dwarf and I'm digging a hole! Diggy diggy hole! I'm digging a hole!"

And then it repeated, over and over again, the same line, in that same deep voice. "Honeydew." I muttered, then continued at a slightly faster pace. After another couple of minutes, I came to a narrow shaft, going down and down. I started down it, the singing getting louder. Finally I stopped as a figure became visible at the bottom.

He was sparsely dressed in armor, with no chesplate, only iron pants, boots, and a horned helm. He had shaggy red hair, and a similar beard. A glowing diamond pick flashed as he drove it again and again into the rock. He was tall for a dwarf, about five-five, a little shorter than me. He was still singing.

"Hello?" I asked hesitantly.

"Diggy diggy hole! I'm-"

"Hello?!" I asked, louder. He jumped and whirled around, his pick held aloft threateningly. "Hi." I said, waving slightly. I belatedly realized that I still had my knife out, and hurriedly stowed it in my bag. He slowly lowered his pick.

"Fuck." He said simply, staring at me.

"Um, I, er, came to rescue you?" I continued. "You are Honeydew, correct?"

"Fuck." He repeated. "How the hell did you get here? Who the hell are you? No one knows about this place except-" He cut off. "Is Xephos with you?" He asked hopefully, looking around like he thought I was hiding his friend.

"Uh, yeah." I replied. "He took the other tunnel." Honeydew paled. "What is it? Why-" I gasped. "The lines. One path leads to your prize, the other only to death. Oh, shit! Xephos is in danger!"

"We've got to get out of here!" Honeydew yelled, grabbing up his satchel, which I saw was filled to the brim with jewels, gold, silver, and bread. He pushed past me and started climbing, me in hot pursuit.

"Why did you make this thing so damn deep?!" I panted as we reached the halfway point of his shaft after what felt like ages of climbing.

"I'm a dwarf! What do you expect?!" He yelled back, not seeming tired at all. I rolled my eyes and kept climbing. Finally, we came out of the shaft, and ran down the tunnel until we came to the crossroads. The text had disappeared. We stared down the other tunnel.

"Do you think that it's still the same rules?" I asked after a moment of awkward silence. "Even though the lines are gone?"

Before Honeydew could reply, Xephos ran out of the darkness, grabbing us both by the arm, yelling, "Runrunrunrunrunrunrunrunrunrunrunrunrun!" The tunnel behind him began to glow with fire.

"What did you do?!" I screamed, half tripping in my attempt to start running. We sprinted down the tunnel, alternately screaming "It's right behind us!", "Faster!", and some rather creative swear words in every language we knew (who knew the Dwarven language had over twenty curses) as heat seared our backs, yet somehow at the same time chilled our bones.

"A Blarog." I gasped. "A Balrog! Why in the name of Notch is a Balrog here!?"

"We dug too deep, Xephos!" Honeydew yelled. "We dug too deep! Like we do every bloody time! We never learn!"

"Why do you dwarves do this!?" Xephos gasped out. "You know something will happen!"

"We're dwarves!" Honeydew replied panickedly. "We like shiny things! It's not our fault all the Mithril is so deep down!"

"Quick! Through there!" I yelled, running through the passageway that led to the skeleton dungeon. We ran up the shaft as the Blarog wailed below us, unable to reach its prey. We collapsed onto the ground outside the mining hut, gasping for breath. After a moment, we looked at each other, then began laughing hysterically.

"Oh, Notch, that was intense!" Xephos gasped after a while, still laughing slightly.

"I know! Why do you think I never went down there, not even for the diamond stash the thing has?" Honeydew chortled. "I mean, I may be a dwarf, but I'm not stupid."

"You sure did dwarf it up, though." Xephos added, smirking. They hugged each other.

"Notch, I can't tell you how great it is to see you!" Honeydew said emphatically when they broke apart. "When the Pale-Faced Git captured me, I had no idea what he had done to you, and no way off the island. I couldn't leave the passageway without another person, so I couldn't even get to the surface. I had about a year's supply of hard tack, though." He grimaced. "I will never eat bread again. What happened to you?"

"Israphel stowed me away in the Hand." Xephos explained. "Ruth here found me, but I had lost my memory. I couldn't remember Daisy, or Peculier, or... Or even you." Honeydew stared at him for a moment.

"You're joking, right?" Honeydew asked. Xephos shook his head. "That evil little bastard. How did he even do that?"

"The Taint of Israphel. Remember, that thing that Peculier had?" Xephos said. Honeydew's eyes widened.

"So why aren't you all old and knackered?" Honeydew asked blunty.

"The Taint affects everyone differently." I cut in. The dwarf jumped, as though he'd forgotten I was there. "It took away Peculier's strength, but for some reason, it took away Xephos's memory." Honeydew stared at me, confused.

"Alright." He said at length. "I'm going to pretend that makes sense. But you're cured right? You remember everything?"

"Well, obviously, or how would I have found you?" Xephos laughed. "Ruth and this guy Arctus helped us get the ingredients for the cure-all potion."

"Oh, gods. Fumblemore?" Honeydew said, grinning.

"Fumblemore." Xephos replied, likewise smiling.

"If you guys are done catching up," I said, getting to my feet. "We should get to Isabel's ship. She'll be worried, and the sun's setting soon."

"Isabel?" Honeydew asked, his eyes lighting up mischeivously. "Do you think she has any beer? Or a bed for two?" Xephos laughed while I blushed, smirking.

"Is that all dwarves care about?" Xephos asked, shaking his head and leading the way to the ship.


End file.
